The use of polymeric materials such as polycarbonate resins for both home and industrial applications has increased tremendously in recent years. One of the most widely accepted applications of the polycarbonates, for example, has been in the field of optical lenses such as those used in the manufacture of eyeglasses, including safety glasses, and apparatus requiring lenses such as binoculars, microscopes and the like.
While the polycarbonates are excellent for these applications due to their excellent optical clarity and impact resistance, among other features, they are disappointing, as are many other polymers, in regard to their mar-resistance. The surfaces of products produced from the polycarbonates etc., therefore, are relatively easily scratched or otherwise marred, thereby rendering their lifetimes somewhat shorter than desired.
The tendency of polycarbonate lenses to suffer surface damage has been most recently overcome by coating the lenses with mar-resistant coatings, see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,518,040.